Retort apparatus.



Ali. VPINK. R.' TAPPARATUS.

' APPLICA FILED 1UN E l0, |915- A1,219454'7.. Y

Pte Jan- .x`

l Ens- @manuell/i E. FINK.V RETORT APPARATUS. APPLICATIONF|LED1uNE1`o,1915.

' Patented Jan. 23,1917. l

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Iilw

E.y PINK@ 1 REToRT APPARATusL APPLICATION FILED JUNE IO, 1915' "PatentedJan.' 23, 1917-.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- UNITED STATES! PATENT y EDWARDVFIN K, MILllli'AUKEE,WISCONSAIN, ASSI'GNOR OIE` ONE-HALF T HLLECK W.

' SEAMAN, 0F CLINTON, IOWA. v

RETQRT APPARATUS.

To all whom z' may concern.' Be it known that I, EDWARD FINK, a c1t1-zen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, the county of Milwaukeeand 'State of Wisconsin, have invented certain v new and usefulImprovements in Retort lprovide retort apparatus by the use of which thereduction of zinc oxid, for example, may lbe conducted as a continuousoperation, and

' 4the condensation of the zinc vapor is continuous, while the feedingof the materialto be treated in the retort may be either coni tinuous orintermittent, and the discharge of waste solid materials from'the'retort may be either continuous or intermittent.

A further object of the invention is to provide retort apparatus of sucha characterh that it is not necessary at any time to dis-A connect thecondenser from a retort either for the purpose of charging the retort,or for the purpose of removing spent material from the retort.v Thefeeding of the material to retorts and the discharge of spent materialfrom the retorts may be accomplished by mechanical means and therebyeffect a great saving in time and labor as compared with the known formsof Zinc retorts.

In general terms the invention comprises an upright retort provided withan outlet to a condenser, and preheating and feeding apparatus for theretort so located with respect to the outlet to the condenser that theoutlet cannot be choked or blocked by material fed -to the retort, andthe lower endof the retort is provided with mechanism whereby the spentmaterial in .the retort seals the interior of the retort from theatmosphere while at the same time a part of the spent material may bereadily removed without disturbing the operation lof the retort voradmitting air to the retort. Preferably a plurality of retorts,sufficient in number to accommodate'the requirements of the plant where`they are operated, are grouped together in a single furnace orcombustion chamber.

'Specification of Letters Patent. Patnted Jan, 23, 191% Application led.Tune 10, 1915. Serial No. 33,236. i l

Referring to the drawings which accompany this specification' and formaparthereof, vwhich drawings illustrate embodiments of this invention andon which drawings theV same reference characters are used' to designatethe same .parts wherever they mayappear in each of the several views,Figure -1 is a longitudinal vertical 'section through a furnace, one ofthe retorts and associated vparts therein being shown in section, and

other parts being shown as broken away to clearly illustrate theconstructions; Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section kof the furnace,

l one of the retorts therein and associated parts beingshown in section,and the other retort belng shown with parts broken away; Fig. 3

is a partial lverticallongitudinal sectionof a furnace, one oftheretorts and associated parts therein being-shown in section, andanother of the retorts and associated parts being shown as broken away,and illustrates a modified lform of retort apparatus; Fig. 4 is atransverse vertical section of the furnace illustrated by Fig. 3, one ofthe retorts andl associated parts therein being shown in sectionv andthe other retort and associated parts therein being shown with'partsbroken away; and Fig. 5 is a plan view of one of the retorts illustratedby Figs. 3 and 4.

Referring to Figs; 1 and 2 of the drawings, Athe reference'numeral ldesignates a-l furnace which may be constructed in any lsuitable orconvenient manner .for the purpose desired, the particular furnace`illustratedbeing provided with burner nozzles 2 and 3 lfor liquid,gaseous or pulverized fuel an tacks 4 and 5 being provided for theescape-of the products of combustion. A supporting frame 6 is placed inthe lower part of thefurnace 1,. and upon this frame are supported basemembers 7, which are I preferably vprovided with ledges 8 to vsupportretorts 9.' The retorts 9 may have substantially perpendicular walls, orthe walls may' flare outwardly softhat the lower parts of the retortsare largerl than the upper parts, to facilitate the descent ofmaterialtherein, but it is preferred to make the base members 7 considerablylarger at their. bottoms than at their tops, sothatthe material thereincan readily move downwardly as the material is removed from below.

A partition l0, of suitable refractory material,` separates thecombustion chamber 11 from the chamber 12 in which the base members 7are located. so as to prevent the base members from being heated to anyconsider- I able extent. The lower ends vof the base able mechanism. asfor example, the

ings.

members 7 are partly closed by the revoluble cones 13, which aresupported upon shafts 14, and which may be revolved eithercon-16,'having an 'arm disposed at an angle like a screw or propeller bladeto force the material down as the agitator is revolved.v Conveyers 17 ofany suitable construction, may extend into the chamber 12 and under thebase members '7, to receive the material discharged from the basemembers 7 and repartition 24, corresponding to the partitionf l0 alreadydescribed, and for the same purmove it to the exterior of the furnaceEach retort is provided with an outlet 18 which communicatesl withI acondenser 19,

and a preheating and feeding tube 20 communicateswith the interior ofeach retort and is so disposed with respect to the outlet 18 thatmaterial fed' into a retort by the feeding ltube cannot reach the outlet18,

thereby providing a pocket adjacent the, outlet 18. The feeding tubes 20are illusv trated as provided with hoppers 21 at their upper ends andthe material to be fed to the retorts can be supplied to these hopperseither by hand or' by suitable conveying mechanism.

The top of the furnace is provided withV removable closures 22, ofsufficient size to enable the removal of a broken or damaged retort andthe insertion of a new retort therefor.

Referring now to Figs. 3, 4 and of the drawings, the furnace 23 isprovided with a pose. A second partition 2o, is provided above theretorts, forming, wlth the roof of the furnace, afchamber 26 throughwhich' the preheating and feeding tubes 27 extend, andthe products ofcombustion from the i combustion chamber 28 can be diverted to a greateror less extent from passing directly to the stacks 29 and 30 by means ofthe dampers 31 and 32 and compelled to pass through the apertures 33 and34 in the partition 25 and around the preheating and feeding tubes 27 tothe flue exits and 36. located above the partition 25. The hot productsof combustion passing around the feeding tubes-27 heat the materialcontained therein and drive the moisture therefrom and preheat the'samebefore the material enters the -retorts The retorts 37 inthe furnaceillustrated by Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, are elliptical in shape,with their long diameters placed longitudinally of the furnace andA theyare supported upon flaring base members 38 andare provided with outlets39 'which communicate`with condensers 40 in the same general manner asthe retorts already described and illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2 of thedrawings.

The feedingtubes 20 illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawingsare.illustrated as extending down intothe interiors of the retorts belowthe outlets 18, so that the material cannot accumulate in or oppositethe said outlets to block the same.V

In the construction illustrated by Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings theoutlets 39 extend from the tops of the retorts near one end of the longdiameter of a retort, and the preheating and feeding tube 27 for aretort terminates substantially at the top of the retort and is locatedat the opposite end of the long diameter of the retort from the out-Alet, and as the material fed to the retort will not rise above the angleof repose for the material indicated by the dotted line 41, the materialcannot accumulate opposite the outlet ofthe retort so as to block thesame.

The furnace illustrated by Figs. 3 and 4v of the drawings is shown yasprovided with burners 42 and 43 for gaseous, liquid or pulverized fueland it wilLbe understoodof course, that the burners 2, 3, 42 and 43 areillustrated conventionally, and any suitableA o r preferred form ofburner for burning liquid or gaseous or pulverized solid fuel, or anymixture of` these fuels, may be used --as desired. It is preferred touse a gaseous,

liquid or pulverized solid fuel, or some mixture of these fuels, asdistinguished from ordinary solid fuel, onaccount of the betterregulation of the-'heat which can be obtained.

The furnace illustrated by Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawingsis provided withremovable closures 44, for the same purpose as in the furnaceillustrated by Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, and the base members 38are supy ported upon a supporting frame 45 to the interior of whichaccess may be had through doors 46 for the removal of the spent mate--rial which has collected in the bottom of the furnace and in thebase'members 38.

vThe apparatus is used as follows: The

base members, retort's, preheating and feeding tubes and hoppers arefilled with the proper charge mixture for effecting the reduction of thematerial-to be reduced in the retorts, for example, the charge mayconsist of a mixture of zinc oxid and carbonaceous material suitable forreduction, and the retorts are heated by the fuel burning inthevcombustion chamber of the furnace and supplied thereto by the burners.When the temperature of the retorts has been raised suiciently,reduction of the zinc oxid will take place within the retorts, the zincvapor into the pockets adjacent the escape' through the outlets to thecondensers where the vapor will condense to metallic zinc. The materialin the base members ei'lectually seals the interiors of the retorts fromthe atmosphere, and the material in the preheating and feeding tubeswill prevent the escape of any zinc vapor through the feed hoppers.

In both constructions of furnaces illustrated by thedrawings thepreheating and feeding tubes are exposed'to the hot products ofcombustion, so that .the material therein becomes heated suiliciently todrive v off the moisture and volatile matters cone tained therein, butAthe temperature of the preheating and high enough to of the zinc oXidcontained therein and the distillation of the zinc Vapor. This is due tothe facty that in the construction of furnace illustrated by Figs. l and2 of the drawings, the preheating and feeding tubes pass through theroof of the furnace and consequently their entire lengths'are not ex.posed to'the hot products of 'combustion within the furnace, and in theform of furnace illustrated by Figs. 3' and-4 of the drawings, thepreheating "and feeding tubes not only pass through the l roof of thefurnace, but are separated-from the active combustion chamber of As thezinc oz'iid. i aretort is reduced and the oarbonaceous material isconsumed, the spent material in. the retort diminishes or decreases in.volume and settles down in the retort, and `fresh driedandheatedmaterial flows into the retort fromthepreheating and feeding tube.vThemate'rial yis. removed from the base membersfbyth'e vrotation of therevoluble cones 13 `intlieoonstruction illustrated by drawings, and thismaterial falls on the .Y rial. '6.0'

conveyer 17 and is removed-tothe .exterior of the furnace.

In the construction illustra-ted by Figs. 3 and 4 ofcthe drawings, thematerial is removed by the use of hoes or shovels through the doorwaysprovided with theY doors 46, and with either form of construction,"asthe material is removed from the base members the material in theretorts sinks down and fresh material Hows into theretorts from thepreheating` and feeding tubesv to maintain the retorts substantiallyfull of matein line with the i y tops of the'reto'rts down to theplaneof the burner nozzles and the material cools -as it feeding tubes is notraised bring about the reduction` the furnace by the par.

Figs. l and 2 of the.

The' 'retorts arelsubjected to the most intense heat in the -zo'neburner nozzles, yso that thereduction" of the'` .zinooxid inthe retortsis Ta' gradual one asV 'the 'material'.,in th'eretorts-'sinks from thereaches the bottoms of the base members is not highly heated. Thismethod of gradually increasing the. temperature of the materialto iirstdrive oif the moisture and volatile matters and then graduallyincreasing the temperature to a point suiiicient to reduce andvolatilize the last remnantof the zinc contained in the charge, effectsa gradual and continuous distillation of tlie zinc vapor without anyviolent or explosive re .action taking place as would happen were thefresh charge to be subjected to the highest temperature of the furnaceimmediately upon introduction into the retorts. Any lead, antimony andcopper oXid contained in the charge will be reduced to a metallic formand will be removed from the base members vwith the carbonaceous residueor spent material, and can be separated from the spentl material andrecovered.

The feeding tubes should have enough lof i I 'heating tubes'27 topreventlshort circuiting of the hotproducts of stacks without heatingthel feeding and preheating tubes 27. The hot products of combustionpassing through the aperture 33 into the chamber 26 must pass to stack30 through the flue exit 36 and-the hot prod'- ucts of combustion whichpass through the aperturei into the Chamber` 26 pass to stack 29 throughthe flue aperture 35.

Vhat is claimed is:

l. The' combination with a retort and condenser and an outlet leadingfrom said combustion to the .retort to said condenser, ofa preheatingand feeding tube for supplying material to said retort so connected tothe retort as to maintain a pocket free from material adjacent theoutlet to the condenser when the retort .has been filled with materialthrough the preheating and feedingtube.l

2. The combination with a base member, adapted to retainreducedmaterials therein and open at its top, of an open bottom retortsupportedon said base member'and provided 'with a -preheatingfe'd pipe extend-A4ingfupward therefrom, and a condenser communicating'with the interiorof thev ref-jI tort'through an outlet 4in'v the retort located -inytheretort above- When .the retort is filled withQ material throughtheApreheating feed pipe.

3. The' combination with a retort open at the bottom and provided with acondenser material in the-retort and a preheating and feeding tubeconnected to theupper end of the retort, of a base member open at itsbottom, for supporting the retort, and a shaft extending up intoA thebase member and provided with an agitator forbreaking up crustsv oradhering material which may form beneath the redlicing zone of theretort.

Jr. The combination with a furnace provided with a combustion chamberand a partition forming the bottom ofthe combustion chamber, of'retortsopen at their bottoms, located in the combustion chamber, base membersfor said retorts located below said partition, and means for produc inga zone of high temperature within said combustion chamber adjacent thelower ends of said retorts.

5. The combination with a furnace provided with a combustion chamber, ofretorts located in saidcombustion chamber.

and preheating and feeding tubes vextending throughthe roofof said'furnace and communicating With'the interiors of said retorts, and meansfor regulating the heating ot' said preheating and feeding tubesi InlWitness whereof I hereto atliX my signaturev in presence of twoWitnesses.

' EDR-TARD FINK. Witnesses ,HAs. L. Goss, FRANK E. BENNETT.

